Buying a Home in San Diego

If you are planning to buy a home in San Marcos, CA, be sure to put Mahogany on your list of must-see communities. Mahogany is a new home community being built by Brookfield homes. I have taken several clients there over the last year or so, and one of my clients ended up buying a Mahogany home just a few months ago. The location is in the foothills just outside of Carlsbad (outside of Carlsbad by about a 1/4 mile, I would guess). The homes range in size between about 2,400 and 3,800 square feet with 3-5 bedrooms, depending on which model you look at. For more information, go to Brookfield's website. Pricing starts in the high $500,000s.

If you do want to see the homes, be sure to take your agent with you. Every new home development I've worked with has a policy to only let you use your own agent to represent you if you bring your agent with you on the first visit to the community. In other words, in my experience builders are offering to pay your buyer agent for you (just like other sellers tend to do) as long as your agent is with you on your first visit. Otherwise, the builder forces you to use its own sales agent (an agent of the seller) and makes you pay for your own agent if you want to have representation during your purchase transaction. They watch their door closely, and have a sign-in sheet. There are only a couple of agents that work in the sales office, so they are able to recognize people that have been in there previously.

In my experience, buyers today want to be informed. They want a good deal, and they want to know that what they are buying is worth the price. Even if buyers end up buying a new home, they want to see other homes for sale in the area to make sure the price is right. Sometimes it makes more sense to buy a used home and fix it up. Other times you may find a used home that is in mint condition. I've never found a buyer who wanted to be represented by the seller's agent. I have met people, however, who didn't realize they were being represented by the seller's agent until after the transaction was over. That's crazy! An exclusive buyer agent's job is to represent you (the buyer) and your best interests at all times, so be sure to always take your agent with you when you go to see a new home community for the first time.

Photo courtesy of Mahogany at Old Creek Ranch by Brookfield Homes